


Everybody is looking for something

by CeruleanHeart



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Horror, Light Smut, M/M, Mpreg, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Werewolves, and, basically all the tension tags are here, now with a side of, sweet and spicey with a side of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-07-14 18:31:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16046153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeruleanHeart/pseuds/CeruleanHeart
Summary: Collection of my tumblr drabbles and prompt fills.Including but not limited to The Hangover AU, Flower Shop AU, parents!Harringrove, promnight!Billy and Steve, Autumn!Harringrove, trope mashups and wish fics.[First chapter is a table of contents with a short synopsis of every ficlet.]





	1. Table of contents

**Chapter 2** : Virus

                 [Billy gets infected with something truly horrifying. Non Harringrove fic.]

 

 **Chapter 3:** Viva Las Vegas

                 [trope mashup: accidental marriage + sleep intimacy Steve, Tommy and Billy go to Las Vegas and things get out of control]

 

 **Chapter 4** : Bouquets of Love

                [trope mashup: Florist AU + Mutual Pining Billy may not give a fuck about flowers but damn, the florist is pretty]

 

 **Chapter 5:** Speak no Evil

                 [trope mashup: Accidental Eavesdropping + Scars Steve overhears a conversation between Tommy and Billy in the locker room. It plays out different from what he expected.] 

   

 **Chapter 6:** What happens in the boiler room…

                 [trope mashup: Locked in a room + Mistaken for a Couple Steve and Billy get hot and sweaty in the boiler room.]

 

 **Chapter 7:** Do you remember?

                 [trope mashup: Pregnancy fic + forgotten first meeting The baby in Steve's belly is kicking and he can't sleep]

 

 **Chapter 8:** Boys of Summer (nsfw)

                 [wishfic: Billy’s visiting from California and makes amends to Steve]

 

 **Chapter 9:** Tonight is forever

                 [wishfic: Steve and Billy both don't have a date for prom but that doesn't mean they have to go home alone]

 

 **Chapter 10:** The leaves they are a changing

                   [wishfic: Steve takes Billy driving in the country side and they visit a farm market.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been asked to put these up here because some people prefer reading fics on ao3 instead of tumblr, so here we are! If you want to read these in the original context feel free to check out my master [list HERE](https://highon85.tumblr.com/post/173990550191/my-harringrove-fics-masterlist)
> 
> Most of these drabbles and ficbits are rather short but there's a few longer pieces among them too.  
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this little collection. If you do, it would be awesome if you left me a comment or a kudos. ;)
> 
> Also, always let me know if you'd be interested in a sequel to any of these little stories. Thanks!


	2. Virus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Max uses the syringe filled with tranquilizer, Billy gets infected with something truly horrifying. Non Harringrove fic.

The week after the incident at the Byers house, Billy comes down with a fever.

It rattles him bad. He stays holed up in his room for days and whenever Max sees him he’s pale and sweaty, his eyes are glassy and hes shaking. He’s shaking day and night and sometimes she can hear his teeth chatter through the thin wall that separates their bedrooms.

Neil says he doesn’t need a doctor, that if he’s dumb enough to run around half naked and dressed like a fag in November, he’s not worth the bill.

Max thinks whatever,  _Karma is a bitch_ , but when he finally recovers, she’s secretly relieved.

After the fever Billy’s changed. He’s not a new man, mind you, but he’s definitely different. It’s hard to put a finger on it.

He stays away from Max and her friends but sometimes she catches him watching them, watching with empty eyes. And some nights, she hears him scream in his sleep. It sounds inhuman, like a wounded animal and it gives her shivers, fills her with some kind of primal fear.

The morning of the first snowfall Max catches Billy standing in the backyard, he’s shirtless and the snow on his shoulders doesn’t melt.

Something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong.

Max knows she should leave, get help, that this would be the smart thing to do. But they’re family now, the only family she knows, so she goes to him.

She sees it only when she’s almost at his side. The thin black veins running all over his skin, covering his chest, his arms and dissappearing underneath the waistband of his jeans. They’re forked like the roots of a tree and meet in a single round mark on the right side of his neck.

“Billy?” Max whispers and her voice is thin like the first ice on the water of the quarry “Are you alright?”

At the sound of her voice he turns around and smiles at her, or pretends to at least.

What he really does is move his lips in a way that’s supposed to be friendly and benign. But it’s not, it’s stiff and cold and terrifying, alien.

“Maxine.” he says and his voice is buzzing, like a swarm of flies.

For just a moment longer his irises are blue, the way she remembers them, the way they should be. But then his pupils dillate and bleed out, spread over the blue and the white like an oil spill, filling his eyes with nothing but darkness.

The man in front of her is not her step-brother. He hasn’t really been Billy since the night she’s taken the syringe to his neck. The syringe with a needle that had been in Will Byers before.

Max screams until her lungs feel raw and then she runs.

She runs from the monster hiding underneath her not-brother’s skin, she runs from the realization that it was her, who infected him. She runs as hard as she can.

Behind her, the Mind Flayer starts laughing.


	3. Viva Las Vegas (drabble)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trope mashup: accidental marriage + sleep intimacy  
> Tommy and Carol get engaged and the boys go to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party. Things get wild.

After graduation Steve mends his relationship with Tommy and Carol. They’ve known each other for ages and you can’t stay a teenage dumbass forever so they sort their shit out and move on. Also Steve really needs some friends that are his age, now that he decided not to go to college.  
It comes with a grain of salt because suddenly Steve has to hang out with Billy more than he’s comfortable with. Sometimes Steve wonders if Billy low key moved in along with Carol and Tommy when they rented the apartment on Main Street. 

Steve and Billy bare their teeth at each other for some time whenever they meet but after a while it mellows into grumpy acceptance. And if it turns into grumpy affection from there on, leading to Billy and Steve hanging out whenever Carol and Tommy get too lovey-dovey to be bearable human beings… Nobody says anything about it. Nobody says anything either when Billy moves into one of the Harrington’s guest rooms for a while after a violent falling out with Neil.

It’s the second year of Steve working for his father and half a year after Billy started his job at the garage and moved into his own flat, when Carol and Tommy announce their engagement. “Why wait?” is what they say.

Of course Steve gets to be the best man, who else? And of course Tommy wants to go to Las Vegas for his bachelor party. Where else? The three of them book a room at the Bellagio for a weekend and everything goes down hill from there. 

 

They start with a few cocktails and a bit of gambling but things spin out of control quickly. Tommy wants to have some fun on his last weekend as a free man and they move on to a bar, then a strip club, then another bar, then the parking lot of that bar, where Steve throws up violently then another strip club. At this point neither of the boys can see straight anymore. Tommy shoves all of their cash into the back of the slip of one of the dancers but they get kicked out when he tries to put some small change into her “coin slot”. Someone gives him a bloody nose as a goodbye gift.

The guys decide not to let that ruin their night, tho. While Steve and Tommy get more cash at an ATM, Billy chats up a bunch of tall ladies with strong jawlines, feather boas and sequin dresses.

They follow them into a club where girls are clearly the minority. It doesn’t matter they still have fun. At this point Billy’s shirt has vanished. Tommy buys a bottle of champagne and starts spraying it on Billy, who’s jumped onto the bar top giving his best Freddy Mercury impersonation. The crowd cheers when Steve licks it off his chest and a stranger buys them more drinks to thank them for the show. Later, Billy and Steve dance together in a cage. At this point Steve has lost his shirt as well. He’s not sure if they’re kissing underneath the blinking lights because he’s not sure if anything that’s happening is real or a magical dream.

The next morning. Steve wakes up in a suite at the MGM Grand with a terrible headache. The arm around his waist and the solid, warm body spooning him belong to Billy. He’s got his face nuzzled into the nape of Steve’s neck and is breathing softly in his sleep. Steve’s heart stops for a second but then he realizes they at least still got their boxers on.

When he carefully removes Billy’s arm from around his waist in order not to rouse his sleep he notices a gold band around his left ring finger. Which is weird because he remembers Billy wore a silver skull ring there until yesterday. But he needs to piss and his head feels like it’s gonna split into two pieces any second now, so he doesn’t think twice about it.

On the way to the bathroom he sees that the suite is absolutely trashed. There’s a guy in a sequin dress sleeping on the couch and Steve only realizes it’s Tommy on second glance. The bathroom it turns out, is occupied by an Elvis Presley impersonator taking a dump. When Steve stares at him wide eyed he says,

“How was the wedding night?”

“Wedding night?” Steve asks baffled.

Elvis makes a gesture to Steves hand.

“Yours and whatshisname… Billy?”

Steve stares at his hand in shock.There’s a gold band on his left ring finger too.

He doesn’t notice Billy shuffling into the bathroom until he kisses his shoulder and says

“Good morning, honey.”


	4. Bouquets of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trope mashup: Florist AU + Mutual Pining Billy may not give a fuck about flowers but damn, the florist is pretty

Billy quite frankly didn’t give two fucks about flowers. Most days, he was glad if he could tell a rose and a daisy apart. He did however give a lot of fucks about the pretty florist running the flower shop one block down from his place. 

From the first time he stepped into the shop, he’d been lost. Beguiled by the beauty of it’s owner standing in a ray of soft afternoon light coming through the window as he watered some potted plants.

The young man looked like a flower himself. He was pale and slim like a lily and had large, soft eyes and dark, even softer hair, that fell into his face as he glanced up at his customer. His smile almost stopped Billy’s heart as it blossomed on his face, his lips the color and the shape of a powdery pink rose.

“Hello.” he said and his voice was a bit deeper than Billy had imagined “How may I help you?”

Billy had popped in to get a bouquet for his step-mother, fully prepared to grab the next best pre-made one and just shove it at her half-heartedly. But he instantly changed his mind, turned on his charm and asked for advice on a custom bouquet.

Steve as the name tag on his apron said, started sputtering happily about flowers and their meaning as he picked some out.

But Billy was only half listening. He watched intrigued as his slender, delicate hands worked their magic. Their soft creamy skin seemed almost translucent and Billy could see his blue veins dancing underneath as he cut stems and arranged flowers, leaves and wild weeds into a beautiful bouquet. When the sleeves of his shirt rode up a bit, Billy could see small scratches on the underside of his arms standing out ruby red against the white. The kind of scratches thorns leave.

He couldn’t think of anything else for the rest of the day, completely entranced by the mental image of what colors his mouth would bring out on that skin if he ever got it on Steve and what the pretty boy’s rose lips would look like wrapped around his cock. He idly wondered if he would leave the scent of freshly cut flowers behind on his sheets after he’d fucked him.

Billy suddenly remembered a lot of occasions to get flowers for and made a point of coming back to Steve’s shop to tell him about the praise people sang about his bouquets.

_____

The first time Billy came into Steve’s shop, he was almost sure, he’d taken the wrong door by accident.

The man looked wild, in the truest sense of the word. He dressed like a rock star and had a slightly threatening aura when he barged through the door. He was also almost painfully handsome, with his warm tan, the chiseled face, his striking blue eyes and his golden curls streaming down the back of his neck and over his shoulders.

There was something undeniably sexual about the way he presented himself, the sway of his hips when he moved, his wide shoulders kept straight and proud, the way his broad, half exposed chest rose and fell when he breathed. The fact that he was in amazing shape and Steve could make out the swell of his biceps from underneath the fabric of his sleeves, surely didn’t do anything to cool down the heat he felt creeping up his neck.

Steve had a hard time trying not to drool when he greeted him.

Billy didn’t look like a man who appreciated flowers so he was all the more surprised when he asked for a custom bouquet and listened patiently when Steve couldn’t stop himself from elaborating.

Not only that, he kept coming back. Most times to actually buy some flowers but often enough, simply to compliment him for his work. Steve’s heart started to beat faster and harder with every time Billy came around.

If he started to flirt with him a little bit, it surely wouldn’t harm anyone. And if sometimes he fantasized about Billy’s strong arms lifting him up and his thick fingers spreading him open to fuck him right there on the counter, well no one had to know.


	5. Speak no Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trope mashup: Accidental Eavesdropping + Scars  
> Steve overhears a conversation between Tommy and Billy in the locker room. It plays out different from what he expected.

“Shit.” Steve left his car key in the locker room. It had to still be on the bench where he’d placed it after it fell from his pocket when he put his jeans back on.

He’d been so much of a scatterbrain during the last few days it started to get annoying. But could anyone blame him, with the way his head looked and felt like the rear wheels of truck had run over it? Nope.

With a sigh Steve turned around and walked back. The way he knew his teammates, he’d probably have to fish it out of a toilet.

He met the coach on the way who was already shutting down the gym.

“Forgot something?”

Steve nodded.

He was about to push open the door to the locker room, when suddenly he heard Tommy’s voice.

“Hey Hargrove! Those are some nasty cuts, man. What the hell d’ you do this weekend?”

Oh great, just the people Steve wanted to run into. He hesitated.

“That’s none of your business, Hill.” Billy’s voice was a low snarl, the way it always got when he was extremely annoyed.

Tommy laughed, not picking up on the mood.

“Just sayin’ man. You might wanna put some band aids on there. Unless you wanna show off your battle scars to the ladies, huh?”

Steve could practically hear Billy roll his eyes and quite honestly, he did the same. Tommy oughta learn not to be such an annoying little suck up.

“Hey…” he heard his former best friend continue “You have any idea who pummeled Harrington’s face in? Shit, dude looks like something from a horror movie. Fucking Texas Chainsaw Massacre or something…?”

Great, there it was. Steve waited for Billy to start bragging about how he had fucking OWNED him in their fight at the Byers house. But the reply Tommy got was more than surprising.

“No.” Billy said simply and Steve heard the creaking of his locker door and the rustling of his clothes when he started to pack up his things.

“Aw come on man! You can tell me, buddy. I know Steve fights like a pussy. Even Byers that little creep kicked his ass. If I didn’t know better I’d think he had an actual vagina. No wonder Nancy dumped hi…”

Billy’s locker door slammed shut so violently, Steve jumped back a step with shock.

“If you don’t shut your trap RIGHT NOW, Hill, I’m gonna fucking wipe the floor with you. Do you understand?” Billy’s voice was seething with anger now.

“Woah, sorry!” Tommy laughed again and Steve couldn’t fucking believe he hadn’t picked up on the fact that Hargrove wasn’t someone you should tease when he added “Didn’t know it was a lover’s quarrel.“

Steve held his breath, he wondered if now was a good time to get help or otherwise people might find pieces of Tommy all over the place.

“What?” suddenly Billy sounded very, very calm.

“Who’s the girl in the relationship? No wait don’t tell me. It’s Steve amirite?”

Steve couldn’t see what happened but the next thing he heard was a body being slammed against the lockers with a loud crash, followed by a horrible wheezing sound.

“If I hear you talk shit about Harrington one more time, I’ll fucking end you.” Billy hissed and Steve believed every single word.

“Shit, I was just joking man! Don’t get all worked up about it!” Tommy chocked and judging from the following sounds, Billy let him go.

“Better watch it, Hill.” he said and then Steve heard him shoulder his bag and his steps coming towards the door.

Steve had to react quickly so he sprinted down the hall and hid around the next corner. His heart was pumping frantically in his chest as he waited for Billy to leave.

He couldn’t believe that Hargrove out of all people had just defended his honor.


	6. What happens in the boiler room...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trope mashup: Locked in a room + Mistaken for a Couple Steve and Billy get hot and sweaty in the boiler room.

“This is all your fault, Harrington.” Billy scowled and finally took his shirt off.

It was incredibly warm in the Hawkins High boiler room and both boys were already drenched in sweat. They’d been down here for almost half an hour, most of it spend in hostile silence. The sweat ran down Steve’s forehead and dripped into his eyes with a salty sting. He blinked violently at Billy.

“Are you kidding me?” he snapped and gestured towards the heavy steel door that trapped them down here “There’s literally a sign on that door that says ‘DO NOT CLOSE’!“

“I didn’t close the goddamn door! I tripped over a doorstopper I couldn’t see because I carried a big fucking stack of junk!” Billy kicked at a pile of discarded sports equipment he had dropped to the floor “And YOU did nothing to hold it! You just stood there and watched!”

 

“I was on the other side of the room! And it’s your fault we’re down here in the first place.” 

“Oh yeah?!” Billy glared at him “And why would that be.”

“Because you won’t stop hogging the fucking ball when we’re on the court.” Steve snarled back. 

“It’s not my fault your game sucks, Harrington. Stop bitching about it!”

“You’re impairing the whole team, asshole!”

“You wanna finish what we started earlier?!” Billy growled and stalked across the room towards Steve, sizing him up.

Steve really didn’t want to warm up their fight from before, the one that landed them in this whole mess. They’d gotten a bit too rough on the basketball court and the coach had finally called the game off and made them clear some of the shelves of the storage room in the back of the gym as punishment. So they would learn how to work together, he’d said. Bringing the things down to the basement was meant to be their final task. Sadly, the only way to the additional storage unit down here lead through the boiler room with a door that missed a handle on one side.

No Steve, didn’t want to fight the other boy in the dirt and the heat of the basement. But when Billy reached him, crowding into Steve’s space, almost bumping their foreheads together he couldn’t help but snarl at Hargrove.

“Bring it on amigo.”

Billy laughed and then shoved him. This time, however Steve was prepared and he was pretty proud of himself when he didn’t budge an inch. Something sparked in Billy’s eyes then and a triumphant little grin appeared on his face.

“Heh, finally learned to plant your feet, did you? Good to know you took my advice.” he said low and dangerous taking another step towards Steve. They were so close now that their chests were touching.

The additional warmth radiating off of Billy made the heat unbearable so Steve lifted his arms and pushed him away. That’s to say he tried. But his hands slipped on Billy’s sweat slick skin and slid down instead, all the way over his hard pecs and further, traveling over the well defined shape of his abs. They only came to rest when they caught on the hard leather of Billy’s belt, the tips of Steve’s fingers now trapped between the fabric of his jeans and the smooth skin below Billy’s navel.

The muscles of Hargrove’s taut stomach jumped underneath the touch and maybe it was the way his breath stuttered that made Steve not pull his hand back at once. He licked his lips nervously instead and the way Billy’s eyes followed the movement made his heart jolt.

The sudden silence between them stretched out and turned into an almost tangible tension that was filled with something completely different than the aggression from before. Billy swallowed thickly.

“I, uh…” he said but he never got to finish because in that very moment the door was opened with a screaming creaking sound.

The coach stepped in and narrowed his eyes, when he spotted the boys frozen in their action.

“What in god’s name is going on?” he said, his tone suspicious “Have you boys been foolin’ around down here?”

Steve pulled his hands away quickly, like he had touched a hot stove and hid them behind his back.

“No sir!” he and Billy answered in embarrassed unison.

“Well you’ve been bickering like some old married couple for months now. But you better sort this out upstairs.” the man said, shaking his head and put the doorstopper back where it belonged.

When they trudged up the stairs behind the coach, Steve couldn’t help but notice that Billy’s ears were as red as his own cheeks felt. But maybe it was just the heat and nothing more.


	7. Do you remember?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mpreg!  
> trope mashup: Pregnancy fic + forgotten first meeting  
> The baby in Steve's belly is kicking and he can't sleep. Billy tries to help.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Billy’s voice is slurred with sleep when he reaches out and puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder. He’s been tossing and turning for the last half an hour, unable to find rest.

“I can’t sleep.” Steve sighs and sits up, leaning back against the headboard of the bed placing both hands on his big baby bump. “He’s kicking again, my little night owl.”

Billy looks up at him from where his face was buried in the pillows, moonlight washes through the window painting him in bright silver and deep shadows.

“Can I feel?”

There’s something cute about how Billy always, always asks before he touches Steve with that wondrous look in his eyes, like his body is the greatest and most amazing mystery in the world. Instead of answering Steve takes his big, warm hand and guides it to his belly. Billy follows the movement, scoots a little closer and leans his head against Steve’s chest, right above the swell of his abdomen.

Steve’s hand cards through his boyfriend’s messy curls, idly plays with a single strand while Billy caresses his bump with slow, gentle strokes. As if the baby can feel him, it gives another kick.

Steve laughs when Billy startles at that with a little flinch.

“Felt that?”

Billy nods and continues his caress.

“Hey little man, you have to go to sleep now. Your daddy is tired.” He whispers and places a kiss on Steve’s swollen belly.

“He’s a troublemaker, like his father.” Steve smiles, he puts his hands over Billy’s and interlocks their fingers.

Billy raises his head, looks at him with fake indignation and snorts.

“I’m a troublemaker?”

“Sure you are. Look at the trouble you got me in, bad boy Billy Hargrove.” he laughs softly, petting his belly and gives his boyfriend a playful little wink. “I knew that from the moment I saw you. Didn’t stop me from falling in love with you, though.”

Billy hums. His eyes flutter shut and a soft, nostalgic smile spreads on his lips. He’s so beautiful when he smiles, it makes Steve’s heart sing with love and he leans down to catch his lips in a sweet little kiss.

“I must’ve looked like such a tool to you at that stupid Halloween party.” Billy laughs “Thanks for taking me anyway.”

Steve pinches his cheek, he loves doing that. Billy has marvelous cheeks for pinching.

“Yeah you did. But that’s not what I mean. Don’t you remember? I saw you before that.”

Billy frowns and rubs his cheek, unlike Steve he doesn’t like the pinching but he endures it without complaining.

“No. What do you mean?”

“The first day you came to school, silly. With your loud car and your loud music. I knew you’d be nothing but trouble as soon as you stepped out.”

“Oh!” Billy grins “You’re right! That was a great entrance, though. Admit you loved it!” He wags his tongue at Steve and wiggles his eyebrows.

Steve gives him a light slap at the back of his head and rolls his eyes.

“Oh my god! You’re still a tool!”


	8. Boys of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked:  
> I wish you would write a fic where billy is happy and flirty and steve is all flustered... i need a happy billy ;-;
> 
> Billy visits from California and makes amends to Steve

“Well, well, well. Haven’t seen you in a while, pretty boy.“

Steve almost spills the lemonade he was pouring when he hears Billy’s deep voice a mere few inches away from his left ear. He spins around, startled and wide-eyed to face his nemesis but instead of the permanent sneer on Hargrove’s face, he’s used to from their high school days, he is greeted by a radiant smile. 

Steve’s not sure what shocks him more, the fact that Billy Hargrove sneaked up on him in his kitchen or how dazzling he looks like that, his pearly white teeth shining and his eyes bright and sparkling, crinkling at the corners with how broad his smile is. Billy leans against the kitchen island, his skin tanned a perfect bronze tone and his curls a golden beach blonde. Shirt open, one hand on his hip and his head cocked to the side he’s looking at Steve like he’s the greatest thing he’s ever seen.

The sight is a bit overwhelming, which might be the reason why it takes Steve more than a full minute to get his tongue to work again.

“H- hi!” he says dumbly. “What are  _you_ doing here? Home for the summer?”

“Nah.” Billy shakes his head and Steve watches bedazzled how a curl slips from the bun he’s put his hair in. ”Just visiting over the holiday, wanted to watch the fireworks with Max. Nice party, by the way.” 

He helps himself to one of the lemonades Steve’s poured for the kids and winks at him. Steve’s heart skips a beat and he feels the familiar heat of a blush creeping up his neck. 

“Thanks. I didn’t know you were coming.” He hastily grabs one of the paper cups himself and drains the lemonade in order to cool down and give his mouth something else to do than delivering awkward replies. Of course he didn’t know Billy was coming, he didn’t invite him. But for some reason, he’s here.

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise Max, she didn’t tell me she already had plans with you and the gang.” he gestures outside to the pool where the Party, as well as their parents and siblings, are assembled around it. A few steps away, on the lawn Hopper is manning the barbecue with Jonathan as his right hand. Their chatter and laughter filters in and fills the silence between them before Billy continues “Hope you don’t mind I tagged along.”

“I- uh. No. It’s fine. Good to see you.” Jesus, Steve is so distracted his brain isn’t working properly. “I mean. You look great, I mean different. Uh, different and great.”

Steve is filled with the sudden urge to drown himself in the pool, because where the hell did that come from? It’s just… he can’t stop gawking at Hargrove, all relaxed and confident and criminally attractive. Billy looks like eternal summer and a million days on the beach and all the dreams anyone could have of California but most of all, he looks like happiness.

And that must be contagious because Steve feels himself break out in a dopey smile as well, despite his embarrassment.  

“Thanks.” Billy laughs and takes a step closer to Steve, his eyes roaming over his body, taking in his pale chest, half covered by a silly Hawaiian shirt. “You look just the same. Which means pretty, as always. Love the outfit.”  
  
He takes the hem of one of Steve’s sleeves and gives it a gentle tug, pulling him another step closer.  
  
Steve forgets to reply, completely and just continues his staring. Christ, Billy is hot. That’s a thing Steve has always been aware of subconsciously but now that he’s come to terms with his equal attraction to men and women, it’s even more apparent. There’s this crazy stray thought buzzing around in his head of how he’s dying to find out if Billy’s skin tastes as much of caramel as it looks like.  
  
“How’s Cali?” he manages to ask after a few more minutes of mutual ogling.   
  
Steve hasn’t heard much about Billy since he left Hawkins and moved back, all he knows is that Hargrove is going to UCLA on full academic scholarship. It blew everyone’s mind back then when they learned that trash king Billy Hargrove was making straight As and if Max hadn’t verified it Steve would have believed it a myth. But she’s got a wall full of postcards Billy sends her, one every month, and dreams of the day she too can leave and go back home.  
  
“It’s warm, sunny. A bit lonely sometimes.” Billy shrugs, cheekily pushes his tongue out between his teeth.  
  
 _He’s single._  Steve’s inner voice supplies helpfully like he isn’t flustered enough already by the way Billy’s eyes straight up devour him. Back in high school he never knew what to do with that but now, of course, he sees it as what is it. Shameless flirting.

Billy Hargrove is hitting on him, hardcore and Steve doesn’t mind it one bit. He just doesn’t know how to react to it, given their history.  He hesitates to take another step when Billy tugs at his sleeve again.

Almost as if he can read his mind, Billy lets go and clears his throat.  
  
“Listen, Harrington.” He says, his eyes now serious and steady on Steve’s “I’m sorry.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I’m trying to apologize, Steve. I’ve regretted fucking up your face every single day since that night and… I was in a really bad place back then, you know, did a lot of shitty things, didn’t know who I was or where I belonged. I know that’s not an excuse but I’m a different person now and… if you can find it in your heart to forgive me…”  
  
Billy reaches out and gently brushes a sweaty curl of Steve’s dark hair from his face and behind his ear. It starts as a small, swift touch but his hand lingers and his thumb finds the fading scar of the cut a kitchen plate has left on Steve’s forehead two years ago. He traces it along his temple and up to where it disappears into his hairline.  
  
Steve is holding his breath half because he can’t fucking believe that Billy is apologizing to him and half because the guy is running his big hand through his hair now, the blunt nails of his thick fingers softly scraping his scalp. The sensation is strangely electrifying, makes his skin feel all tingly and fizzy like he’s spilled cold soda over himself on a hot summer day.  
  
“I don’t know.” Steve says, blushing even deeper but at the same time feeling exhilaratingly daring. “What’s in it for me?”   
  
Billy’s lips quirk into a small knowing smile and he takes his hand out of Steve’s hair. Instead, he slips both of them under Steve’s shirt like they belong there, pulls him closer until their bodies are flush against each other. His fingers start tracing nonsensical patterns on the skin of his hips that make Steve’s breath hitch and his cock fill out in his shorts.  
  
“Hm. Maybe, I can find a way to make it up to you?” he smiles and licks his lips, slowly, hungrily and lets his gaze drop Steve’s mouth.  
  
“Yeah.” Steve replies, his head swimming with want. “Maybe.”  
  
Billy does find a way to make it up to him only ten minutes later in the guest bathroom, first by the way of  heated, sinful kisses that steal Steve’s breath and then on his knees and with his lips stretched around his dick, sucking to the melody of the soft moans spilling from his former rival’s mouth. And then again, in the evening after everyone has gone home, in Steve’s bed, their bodies hot and sweaty sliding against each other in a perfect rhythm and one more time the next morning, over the kitchen counter until he’s thoroughly forgiven.


	9. Tonight is forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: I wish you would write a fic where Billy is nervous and excited about his first time with Steve.
> 
> Steve and Billy both don't have a date for prom but that doesn't mean they have to go home alone.

Billy’s been giving him that look all night. Like he’s starving and Steve is an all-you-can-eat buffet. He’s made a goddamn show of pushing him around, giving him full body bumps in front of everyone, messing with his hair, pestering him with jibes like “pretty boy” and “princess”. He’s practically glued to Steve and no matter what he tries, he can’t shake him off.   
  
It’s not like he had big expectations for the night, it’s a fucking high school dance and Steve came without a date, so all he wanted was to hover around the punch bowl, wait for someone to spike it and maybe try to pick up one of the other rejects because that’s kind of his life now. Billy, however, who showed up dateless as well but in a white fucking tux and with crazy hair and eyeliner can’t even let him have  _that._

If Steve lived in a bigger town, they’d probably have enough students to hold separate proms for juniors and seniors but he lives in Hawkins, so.

So, he might as well have asked Billy to be his date because the guy has been cock-blocking him since the moment he came in. And don’t get him wrong, Billy looks hot as fuck, like one of the members of those crazy bands he listens to and that eyeliner is doing all kind of things to Steve in combination with the guy’s heavy, spicy cologne. But his dress pants are starting to feel tighter and tighter in the crotch region by the minute and Hargrove just won’t leave him alone.  
  
When the lights are dimmed and everyone’s eyes are on the stage, eagerly awaiting the announcement of prom queen and king, Billy goes in for the kill. He slips his arm around Steve’s waist pulls him close and whispers, lips wet and breath hot against the shell of his ear.  
  
“Think they’ll make you queen, darling? You’d look so pretty with that tiara.”  
  
And Steve knows, fucking knows Billy’s just trying to get a rise out of him. That’s been Hargrove’s goal all night and he’s so proud of himself for not letting the asshole get the better of him. But he just can’t help how he goes dizzy with all the reckless, wild desires that are awakened by Billy’s touch.  
  
He wriggles out of his grasp and flees, fucking runs to the bathroom, his cock throbbing in his pants.  
  
He goes straight for the sink, splashes cold water in his face until he almost drowns. Over the sound of the running faucet, he almost doesn’t hear Billy come in. Only when he grabs a paper towel and dries his face with it does he see him. Hargrove is right next to him leaning casually against the wall by the sinks with a nasty grin.  
  
“You think you can just run away and spoil my fun, Harrington?” he sneers “Watcha doin’ here? You cryin’ like a little…”  
  
That’s the last straw. Steve simply snaps. He’s on Billy with the speed of light, grabs him by the collar of his shirt, pulls him in and plants a big wet one right on the other boy’s parted lips, slips some tongue in for good measure too. Fucking Hargrove had it coming, the bastard.  
  
When he pulls away Billy’s eyes have gone wide and his jaw is quite literally on the floor. He looks absolutely dumbstruck and that is definitely an expression Steve can appreciate on that stupidly handsome face. Also, he’s finally shut up. Steve fucking gloats.  
  
“Listen, Hargrove,” he says all smug and satisfied “I don’t know what it’s like in California but in Hawkins, the point of going to prom is to get laid. So unless you want to stand in, you better back the fuck off! Ok?”  
  
Billy looks like he wants to say something but can’t get his brain to work so all that comes from his mouth is some incoherent croaking.  
  
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Steve huffs and pushes Hargrove back against the tiled wall.  
  
Then he spins on his heels to get the fuck out and take care of his raging hard-on in his car. There is no way he can go back to the dancefloor like that, Steve isn’t exactly small. But he doesn’t get farther than two or three steps because suddenly there’s a hand around his wrist holding him back.  
  
“Wait! Fuck, Steve! Wait!!!” Billy sputters a desperate edge to his voice.  
  
He’s so red, so incredibly red he looks like his face is made out of molten lava and Steve is honestly quite surprised his hair doesn’t catch fire, what with all the hairspray he must have put on it.  
  
“What do you want, Billy?”   
  
“I uh, I don’t… Shit! Steve, I can’t… uhm. Do you… are you…? Do you want to…? Uh.”  
  
And suddenly, finally, the coin drops and Steve realizes Billy is not the big bad Casanova with a boner for fast cars and older women he pretends to be. He’s just a boy with a mighty crush. On Steve. Holy shit.  
  
“Seriously?” he asks, completely baffled.  
  
Billy goes impossibly redder. He shrugs, then nods, then shrugs again and finally lets go of Steve’s wrist to cover his face with both hands. Billy doesn’t make a sound except an embarrassed little “oooh”.  
  
“Oh my god.” Steve can’t believe the boy in front of him is the same bully that has made his life miserable for so many months. “All this time you were pulling my pigtails, Hargrove? You could have just, you know, asked?”  
  
“I didn’t know how.” Billy’s words come out miserable and muffled from behind his hands.   
  
Steve has seen enough, it’s his turn to take Billy’s wrist and tug. The other boy follows easily and Steve drags him out of the bathroom, down the hallway and into the parking lot.  
  
“Where are we going?” Billy asks when they’re halfway across it and almost at Steve’s Beemer, sounding nervous.  
  
“My place.” Steve doesn’t let go drags him the rest of the way till they’ve reached his car. “My parents aren’t home.”  
  
“Oh.” he hears Billy swallow with a loud click “Fuck.”  
  
“Yeah, that’s the idea.” Steve turns around and faces him, puts his hands on his hips with a grin. “Jesus, Hargrove you better live up to all your bullshit teasing.”  
  
Billy laughs nervously, rubs the back of his neck before he impulsively reaches out for Steve. His hands are shaking, fucking trembling as he takes his face and leans in for another kiss. This one’s slower, longer than the first one. They both melt against each other and Steve lets Billy walk him back until he bumps into the driver’s side of the BMW.  
  
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Billy whispers on his lips after he finally breaks the kiss, his voice all small and shy and Steve is seriously going to lose his mind if they’re not losing clothes soon.   
  
“Get. In. The. Car.” he pants, finds the door handle and pulls Billy with him into the backseat.

They don’t make it to Steve’s house. At least not for the first round.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, I'm a moron and forgot to post this even though I had it in my drafts the whole time. LoL


	10. The leaves they are a changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:
> 
> Steve takes Billy driving in the countyside one warm Autumn day. The leaves are beautiful and they stop at a farm market for cider and donuts and Steve wants to get pumpkins to carve. Lots of slow cinnamon and sugar flavored kisses. Give me Autumn in the midwest, please!

It’s unusually warm for this time of the year. Billy’s got the window rolled down, elbow out, his head leaning against its frame, aviators on and one foot tapping to the rhythm of a song coming from the radio of Steve’s BMW. He watches the landscape roll by, doused in warm afternoon light that makes his curls glow in shades of soft gold and amber.

In turn, Steve watches him from the corner of his eyes and thinks he fits right into this mild autumn day, like he was born from it in a stray ray of sunlight among the red and brown and yellow of the leaves. He’s all mellow and content, the way he always gets when they’ve put a few miles between themselves and Hawkins, between Billy and his dad.

They’ve been driving around for hours, off the main roads through forests that showered them with leaves the colors of rubies and doubloons and along stubble fields that smell like fresh hay and the memory of summer. The sky is that deep kind of blue you only see when the sun has grown tired and kind after months of scorching the land. It’s a perfect day. Steve wishes it would last forever, wishes they could just drive and drive until the end of their lives.

It’s quiet between them apart from the tunes filling the car. They’ve reached that stage of their relationship where they’re comfortable without words for crutches, where comradery and love and trust have become one and being together means being whole. So when Billy does speak, Steve feels like he’s woken from this beautiful daydream about his boyfriend only to realize it’s real.

“I’m hungry.” Billy yawns and stretches in the passenger seat like an overgrown cat. “It’s been hours since our last meal.”

Steve checks his watch. It’s been two and a half hours since they’ve stopped at a diner and Billy devoured two servings of apple pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. The boy has the sweetest tooth Steve has ever seen and he craves good things like a man in the desert craves for water.

“Okay.” he smiles “Let’s keep an eye out for something, then.”

“’Kay.”

The song changes to a country ballad, Billy frowns and immediately starts fiddling with the stereo, mumbling about “hick radio”. Steve just snorts and shakes his head.

About quarter of a mile later he’s still busy with trying to find a better channel when Steve sees a sign coming up on the side of the road. It reads “Stuart’s Farm Market” and underneath that is an arrow pointing to the right with the direction “2 miles from here”. There are an apple basket, a big pumpkin and a turkey, with a speech bubble that says “gobble, gobble” painted on that sign. It looks corny as hell but it also reminds Steve that Billy is an inner city kid, who has probably never seen a turkey in real life that wasn’t plucked and frozen.

When he sees a dirt road ahead and another sign pointing that way, he takes the right turn. Billy looks up from his meddling with the radio, when the ride gets bumpy.

“Where are we going?!”

“That’s a surprise.” Steve hums and follows the road until a big red barn appears in the middle of a field surrounded by a line of trees. He pulls into the parking lot and kills the engine. “Tadaa! We’re here!”

“A barn? Really, Harrington?” Billy gives him a skeptical look, as if Steve needs to be reminded of his opinion on farms in general and cows in particular.

“It’s a farm market.” Steve rolls his eyes “Come on! It’ll be fun. We can pick out own pumpkin and have some donuts and apple cider and…”

“Did you say donuts?” Billy’s already out of the car and walking towards the barn “What are you waiting for, pretty boy? I said I’m hungry!”

“You’re the worst!” Steve shouts over the roof of his Beemer while he locks it and laughs. Of course, donuts would win Billy over.

Inside there’s a little shop selling fresh farm produce and a small bakery. It smells like cinnamon, maple syrup and baked goods. Steve comes in right in time to hear Billy order a dozen donuts and half a gallon of apple cider.

“I hope that’s for the both of us?” he snickers and pinches his side.

“Ouch!” Billy playfully slaps at his hand but then catches it and intertwines their fingers “I’m gonna eat them all by myself now.” he grins and sticks his tongue out.

God, Steve wants to kiss him but the lady from the bakery is back with their order and Billy lets go of his hand to pay. She hands over a big paper bag with the donuts in it and a plastic jug full of apple cider. Steve grabs the bag before Billy can react and darts through the second entrance that leads out to the other side of the barn.

“Thief!” Billy cries and runs after him, the jug of apple cider under his arm.

Outside there’s a big stack of hay bales and Billy sends them both flying into it when he catches up to Steve and collides with him in a full-body tackle. Miraculously, Steve manages to save the donuts by holding the bag over his head but he gets a mouth full of hay for his efforts.

Billy can’t stop giggling and snorting, lying next to him on the hay bales and holding his sides, while he watches Steve spit it out. He fishes a donut from the bag and holds it in front of Steve’s mouth like an olive branch.

“Here. That tastes better.” he laughs.

Steve grumbles and takes a bite from the offered pastry. It’s still warm and soft and the cinnamon and sugar coating crunches between his teeth when he chews.

“Is it good?” Billy wants to know and Steve nods. “Let me try.“

Instead of taking a bite himself he leans in and steals a kiss from Steve.

“Sweet,” he says when he pulls back and gives his boyfriend a mischievous little wink.

“God, you’re such a cheeseball.” Steve laughs and stuffs the rest of the donut in Billy’s face.

The pastry disappears in one big bite and soon Billy reaches for the bag again. They share half of the donuts and most of the apple cider sitting on the hay bales. There aren’t a lot of other visitors on a weekday, just a few families with a bunch of kids climbing all over the stack. It’s relatively quiet and they enjoy their pastries and soak up some gentle sunlight in simple harmony. Some fleecy clouds drift across the sky and for a while, they watch the swallows flying in and out of their nests under the roof of the barn.

“You’re right. It’s nice.” Billy admits eventually. It draws a wide smile from Steve and he leans his head on his boyfriend’s broad shoulder.

“We haven’t even gotten to the fun stuff yet! I think they only do hay rides on the weekend but we can still look at the turkeys and pick a pumpkin?”

He blinks up at Billy only to meet a leering grin.

“We can steal a bale and then I’ll give you a hayride later.” he whispers and earns a slap from Steve.

“I already had that stuff in my mouth I don’t want it up my ass… or yours!” Steve laughs and gets up “Come on! Let’s look at some stupid birds.”

They walk over to a turkey pen with a low fence. The birds quickly come running their way hoping to get fed.

“God, they look so good fresh out of the oven all nice and golden and with cranberry sauce and shit, you forget how ugly they are in real life.” Billy remarks after eyeing the animals warily for a minute. The turkeys in return show great interest in the donut he’s still munching and flap their wings excitedly, which prompts Billy to stick his tongue out and say “Get your own, that’s mine.”

Steve cracks up with laughter.

“Don’t insult the turkeys.” He wheezes and wipes a tear from the corner of his eye “They’re noble animals.”

Billy snorts and takes Steve’s hand.

“Sure they are. Noble and ugly. Let’s get you your pumpkin, babe.”

The patch is just a few steps away next to a corn field. Rows after rows of beautiful pumpkins glow a deep orange in the afternoon light and Steve feels a childlike excitement bubbling in his chest. He can’t even remember the last time he picked his own pumpkin to carve. He has to hold back in order not to start skipping along the rows of fruits like a little kid.

“Help me pick out the best one?” he asks Billy with sparkling eyes and starts looking around.

After a little while, Steve finds one that has the perfect shape, nice and round, not too big and not too small.

“How about that one?” he asks only to realize Billy is half across the patch looking at a pumpkin that is the size of Steve’s mom’s ottoman.

“How about that one?!” he shouts back flailing his arms in excitement.

“That one’s too big!”

“Too big?! You live in a castle, Harrington. The one you have there is going to look ridiculous in front of it.”

“Okay. But only if you can lift yours alone.”

Billy doesn’t pump iron for nothing. Of course he can lift his big ass pumpkin and of course, they buy the one Steve wants as well. On the way home, Billy falls asleep in the passenger seat stuffed with good things and radiating happiness.

As the sun slowly starts setting behind them, Steve wishes they could keep on driving forever and that this autumn would never end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey let me know if I should keep uploading these here by leaving a kudos or a comment, please. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Addams Family AU

Halloween evening. It's a beautiful full moon night and the trick or treaters are roaming the streets but the Harringrove house lies mostly in silence. The dark victorian facade is only lit by a couple of particularly terrifying pumpkins in the front yard.

In the living room Billy is studying a book about demonology lounging in a leather wing chair, smoking a big cigar.

Suddenly a mild explosion can be heard from the kitchen.

“Steve, darling?” Billy calls without looking up from his book “How's the punch coming along?”

“Great, mon cher!”

There's another small explosion and a few minutes later Steve emerges holding a tray with two glasses. They're filled with a liquid of a red so dark it's almost black. Rather alarming plumes of smoke are rising from the glasses.

“Are the kids still out trick or treating?” Steve asks with a benign smile as he sets down the tray and hands Billy one of the beverages.

“They'll be back any a second. They got caught up playing autopsy with dart earlier.”

“Children and their cute, innocent games.” Steve sighs and sits on the armrest of Billy's chair.

Billy inhales the scent of the drink with relish.

“It smells divine. What’s in it?”

“Deadly nightshade, moonflower and a dash of vitriol.” Steve smiles “My mother’s recipe.”

“Delectable.”

They clink their glasses.

“To the holiday of our people.” Billy says

“To lost and restless souls.”

“To the dead and the undead.”

“To the wicked and the insane.”

“To us.”

They each take a sip and then lean in for a long and passionate kiss.

“Cara Mia.” Billy whispers on Steve’s lips, his eyes dark with desire for his beautiful spouse.

Steve’s breath is coming quick his pale, slender hands trace the line of Billy’s strong jaw as gets lost  in his husband’s gaze.

“Mon Cher.”

Billy takes Steve’s delicate wrist and kisses the inside of it, where his pulse flutters. They’re about to kiss again when a terrible scream pierces the air.

“The children are back.” Billy’s smile is loving and proud.

The front door opens. Dustin and Max come in, both of their baskets full to the brim with candy. Dustin’s costume is a replica of Steve’s black slim tailored suit, complete with waistcoat and black shirt, he’s even got his hair styled the same way. Max wears her usual clothes but she carries a nail studded baseball bat with her. Dart the beloved family pet trails in behind them. He’s covered in fresh stitches.

“How was it, children?” Steve asks getting up to greet them.

“It was amazing! Most people let us have the whole bowl as soon as they saw dart!” Dustin beams and shows off his loot. “Look, that one place gave us a box of full bars AND all the cash they had just so we’d go away.”

“It was an adequate experience.” Max deadpans, her face completely emotionless.

“I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Can we show our stuff to grandma and grandad?” Dustin wants to know.

“Of course you can. But don’t forget the shovel.” Billy reminds them and the two parents watch their kids take off to the backyard where the late family members are buried.

“Soon they’ll be too grown up for Halloween.” Steve sighs with an air of nostalgia, watching them go.

“Soon they’ll be old enough for their first restraining orders.” Billy agrees and puts an arm around Steve small waist. ”Such a special time in the life of a young person.”  

Steve leans his head against Billy’s shoulder and looks up at him through dark lashes. The full moon shines through the big window of the living room, painting him in an ethereal silvery hue.

“Do you remember? We met on a night like this. The moon stood high over the insane asylum, the inmates were howling beautifully, you looked so dashing in your straight jacket. Mon sauvage.”

“Oh Steve! How could I forget? I lost my heart that night and what was left of my sanity, all for you! Cara Mia!”

Without another word they fall into a passionate embrace and kiss again. Billy holds Steve tight leans him back and breaks the kiss only to gaze at him lovingly.

“Steve, what a bliss it is to be your slave.”

Steve slings his arms around Billy’s strong shoulders and looks at him reverently.

“Oh Billy.” he whispers “Promise you’ll haunt me after you die?”

“Forever and ever.”


	12. Nipples Ahoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's summer and Billy's nips drive Steve crazy.

Billy has a thing for white shirts. Which, generally speaking, is an ok fashion choice. At least in Steve’s personal opinion, especially because it brings out the guy’s perfect golden complexion. But it’s also starting to make him nervous.

It wasn’t really a problem in fall or winter or spring, because Billy wore several layers of cotton and denim back then out of refusal to buy a single warm sweater. That would’ve clashed too much with his style. But now that it’s summer he’s kind of… nippley.

And like, Steve isn’t a prude and he’s definitely seen Billy shirtless and naked several times but there’s just something so lewd about getting a glimpse of the reddish shadow of his nipples through a sweat-damp tee or finding half of one of the little nubs peeking out from the opening of an unbuttoned shirt. It’s oddly suggestive in a way that the guy is dressed right now but could get naked at any given chance. That he  _is_ naked underneath the flimsy barrier of cloth.

Billy’s a goddamn tease, that’s the problem. And whenever he comes to Scoops Ahoy to torture Steve it gets worse because the AC makes his nipples harden and Steve messes up his order every time because the little buds poking through the fabric drive him fucking wild. He can’t stop wondering if they’re sensitive and what kind of sounds Billy would make if he got his mouth on them.

He’d probably punch his teeth out and wear them on a string around his neck if he knew what kind of thoughts Steve has been entertaining lately. Yup, that’s definitely what would happen. Steve would have to eat through a straw for the rest of his life.

Steve’s not gonna lie, he’s always been kind of a boob man and Billy’s massive pecs totally count as men boobies, but. It’s getting ridiculous.

“Can I have my order now, Harrington?” Billy drawls and Steve snaps out of his nipple reverie at the sound of his velvety voice.

He’s still holding the cone, frozen behind the counter since the moment Billy’s shirt stretched across his wide chest when he put his wallet back into the back pocket of his jeans and gave Steve the most delicious view. The ice cream is already starting to melt, a mix of Mint Chocolate Chip and Mango Tango running over Steve’s knuckles.

He thrusts the cone out and croaks “Here!”

A nasty grin splits Billy’s face.

“Didn’t you forget something, sailor?” he purrs.

Steve closes his eyes, feels shame painting his face and neck red.

“A… Ahoy!” he stutters and only opens his eyes again when he feels Billy’s fingers brush his as he takes the cone from his hand.

With horror, he watches as Billy licks a slow, broad stripe across the scoop on top and then down the cone to get the trail of molten ice cream.

“Delicious.” he grins and runs that devious tongue across his bottom lip for good measure.

Steve really wishes his uniform shorts weren’t so small.

“See you tomorrow, pretty boy.” Billy spins around with a wink and saunters out of the store.

“God.” Robin huffs from where Steve completely forgot she was standing with him behind the counter “You guys are pathetic.”

“What do you mean?!” Steve sputter, his face as red as the maraschino cherries they serve as a topping.

Robin rolls her eyes.

“How long do you guys intend to flirt before the summer is over? If neither of you is going to make a move anytime soon I’ll have to lock you up in the freezer together or something.”

Steve doesn’t tell her how much he likes that idea because he’s already starting to fantasize about how hard Billy’s nipples would get at 0° F and what they could do to keep each other warm.

He suspects Robin knows anyway because she just snorts at his enraptured expression and shoves him out of the way to take the next order.


	13. Goodnight Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Red Riding Hood AU
> 
> Steve goes to visit is grandmother and meets a stranger with bad intentions on the way. 
> 
> Warnings: horror, blood, biting, kidnapping (kinda), implied murder, werewolves

Steve's grandma lives in a little cabin in the woods 3 towns over and because his parents are rarely home and always busy it's up to him to check on her sometimes.

He doesn't mind it though, she's an old lady and a bit forgetful but she loves Steve dearly and is delighted whenever she sees her only grandchild. She hasn't picked up her phone in a few days but then again her hearing isn't the best these days so Steve decides to just pay her a surprise visit.

He even puts on the red beanie she knitted for him and takes a bottle of his mom's best wine.

But soon after he pulls into the winding road that leads to her house, he blows a tire and ends up in a ditch. Some asshole lost a board full of nails on the road. Steve decides to hike the rest of the way to his grandma's house and call for a tow from there. He tucks the wine bottle under his arm and gets out of his car.

Steve doesn't walk for long before he hears a distant growl and soon a blue Camaro pulls up next to him. 

The driver's got a bright, sharp smile that shows too many teeth, striking eyes that have a vicious gleam and a wild mane of golden curls. He's wearing a short-sleeved dark red pearl snap that's open to display his sculpted chest and too tight around his biceps. His whole get up with that car and all is a bit trashy but the guy has the face of a movie star to make up for it.

"Hey, little Red. Where you're going?" he says and gives Steve a lewd little wink "Need a ride?"

Steve bristles at the greeting tries not to feel self-conscious about the hand knitted beanie. The guy comes off like an ass so he gives him the cold shoulder.

"No thanks. I'm good." he sniffs and turns his head to ignore him.

But the guy doesn't take the hint, he keeps crawling next to Steve along the road.

"What's wrong? You're not afraid of strangers, are you?" he teases.

Of course Steve isn't scared. He tells the guy.

"C'mon then, get in. I promise I won't bite. Name's Billy, by the way. What's yours, pretty boy?" he smiles again, charming and genuine and Steve feels himself flush.

"I'm Steve." he says because he hasn't been raised by Wolves and its polite to introduce yourself.

"See, now we're not strangers anymore." Billy says "Get in, I'll take you wherever you have to go."

Steve thinks, it's a long walk to his grandmother's house on a chilly October day and Billy doesn't seem so bad after all.

"OK." he sighs and walks around the car to the driver's door, waits for Billy to open it for him from the inside.

Billy's a bit of a reckless driver speeding down the winding road but he's easy to talk to and the music coming from his stereo is great.

Steve is just starting to feel comfortable around him when suddenly he leaves the main road and pulls into a path that leads deeper into the forest.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he asks, startled.

"It's a shortcut." Billy says.

Steve risks a side glance at the passenger door and sees that the handle is missing, his stomach drops.

They go down the bumpy road for a while before Billy stops and puts the car into park.

"What are you going to do to me?" Steve asks when the engine goes silent.

"Don't be scared. I just want to spend a little more time with you, Stevie." the light outside is waning but Billy's eyes seem to glow with their own inner fire when he leans over the console and into Steve's space. "I just want a little taste of you."

And maybe it's because Steve has always liked a bit of danger or maybe it's because Billy's eyes are so captivating or maybe it's out of sheer spite but when Billy's lips meet his, he closes his eyes and kisses back.

Billy's kiss is wild and hungry, savage almost. His tongue splits Steve's lips like the blade of a dagger as he claims his mouth with a guttural growl. There are strong hands in Steve's hair, long nails scraping his scalp as he angles his face the way he needs it to kiss him deeply like he's trying to savor the flavor of Steve's soul.

Billy himself tastes like woodfire smoke and copper, smells like wet fern and winter wind and the rich, dark soil of the forest. For a moment Steve forgets that he's not here with Billy on his own free will, for a moment he melts into the kiss lets himself be devoured by this stranger, by this beast of prey.

Steve feels a little dizzy, a little drunk a whole lot crazy when they part for air. He should fight, try to get away but he's spellbound and intoxicated, bares his neck instead when Billy's tongue swipes across the smooth skin of his throat.

"You taste so sweet, little Red. You smell so good, you feel so soft " Billy murmurs into the crook of Steve's neck between licks and kisses "I wanna eat you up."

Steve only has a second to register Billy's words before he sinks his teeth into his flesh. He screams as pain explodes in his shoulder when Billy's sharp canines break skin.

Steve struggles, blood is running down his shirt in hot, red streaks but Billy holds him down with inhuman strength. Desperate he curls his hand around the neck of the wine bottle he kept in the footwell and brings it down on Billy's head with one hard swing.

The glass shatters against the guy's skull and he finally let's go of Steve with a pained howl. Steve knows this is his only chance to escape to get away from this animal. He lunges for the driver's door catapults himself out of his seat and across Billy's lap.

When the door opens Steve falls onto the forest floor rolls over sticks and leaves before he gets back on his feet. Behind him, Billy still holds his head when he turns around to follow Steve with a rage-filled roar.

There's a deep gash on his forehead gushing blood but during that one heartbeat Steve wastes to look back he can already see how the skin is already starting to knit itself together again.

Billy is not a man, he's a monster wearing a man's skin. Steve runs.

Behind him, Billy howls again and this time there is nothing human to it.

The light is gone now but Steve spent years of his life playing in these woods. He could find the way to his grandmother's house blindfolded. He runs and runs, covering the bleeding bite on his shoulder, he runs.

Billy is behind him. Steve cannot see him, cannot hear him but he can sense him on his heels almost feels him breathing down his neck.

The trees part and in front of him, his grandmother's house appears. Steve is gonna make it, he's ten steps away, the two, then he's at the door that's never locked and yanks it open-

and stumbles into a dark, cold home.

He knows, instinctively knows that his grandmother is gone. The house has been vandalized, tables are turned upside down, chairs are broken, there are chips of fine china crunching under Steve's shoes slashes run through the wallpaper in the hallway and the telephone has been ripped from the wall.

Steve stands in the open door, frozen in shock and wheezing and realizes, he's lost.

A branch snaps behind him and when Steve turns around he sees Billy sauntering out from behind the line of trees at the edge of the property. There are no traces of injury on him, only a smear of blood across his chest. His own or Steve's, there is no way of telling.

"Your granny doesn't live here anymore." Billy cackles his grin lupine and unhinged.

Tears sting in Steve's throat bitter and hot. Behind Billy other shapes appear among the trees one after the other. They're three in total, Steve thinks one of them might be a girl.

"Who are you?!" Steve shouts, voice cracking when Billy takes another step towards him "What are you?"

Above him, the clouds part and the man, no beast, in front of him is doused in pearly light. Under the glow of the full moon, Billy's teeth are so long and so sharp and his eyes are so big and the color of amber when he says, almost gently "We're your family now."

Steve stands there and gapes at him for a moment but then his stomach cramps like he's been stabbed and he bends over, falls to his knees with the force of it. The bite on his shoulder pulses and his skin burns.

He opens his mouth to say something but instead of words, the only thing that comes out is a long, pained howl. 


End file.
